Grand Slam Classic baseball tournament one of South Jersey's top diamond events

Washington Township, shown here after winning the prestigious Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic tournament last season, is the host for another of South Jersey's premier baseball events, the Grand Slam Classic now in its eighth year. (Staff Photo by Joe Warner/South Jersey Times)

WASHINGTON TWP. — As the defending champion, Washington Township High School knows very well that the Diamond Classic is the marquee tournament of the spring season for baseball.

But the Minutemen are also annual participants — and hosts — of what is perhaps the next premier event for baseball fans in South Jersey, the eight-team Grand Slam Classic which began play Saturday at the high school and nearby Washington Lake Park.

Township and Cherokee co-created the event eight years ago to provide some early-season competition for some of the top teams in South Jersey, and the tournament looks as strong as ever this season.

“We try to do it every year,” said Minutemen coach Bill Alvaro. “It’s a credit to the coaches that actually want to come in and play in this tournament. Some schools may not want to, but teams like Millville are in this every year because they want to come and play, showcase their kids and it’s a lot of fun.”

All eight teams in the field made the playoffs last season, six of them in South Jersey Group IV, including three of the top four seeds in Vineland, Township and Williamstown. The two smaller teams in the tournament are Central Jersey Group III champion Northern Burlington and state Group II champ Cinnaminson.

The aforementioned Chiefs and Millville have played in all eight tournaments, and Thunderbolts coach Roy Hallenbeck didn’t have trouble putting his finger on why he and his teams keep coming back.

“I love this tournament,” Hallenbeck said after an opening 8-1 loss to the Minutemen Saturday. “The competition, the venue — Washington Lake Park is a nice little place to play too, so I don’t mind going over there. I like the time of year, it’s not your first game but it’s early. (I like) everything about it.”

The opening round of action also saw Cinnaminson top Vineland, Absegami down Cherokee and Williamstown outduel Northern Burlington. While the Bolts will renew their rivalry with the Fighting Clan in a consolation, there will be a battle of the Braves in one semifinal while Township duels with Cinnaminson, a team it would likely never play otherwise in a regular-season meeting.

“We try to find the programs that are coming back that are going to be kind of strong,” Alvaro said. “We want to ask those kind of teams that have a history of winning. Before the Diamond, I think this is one of the biggest tournaments there is. I think the fans like seeing the matchups, people who like South Jersey baseball get to see two teams who might not play during the regular season.”

While there are the regulars like the Bolts and Chiefs that play every year, Vineland was a newcomer to the field, as was Cinnaminson. Fighting Clan coach John Malatesta was thrilled to be a part of the field and to test his team against a quality opponent.

Of course in the Grand Slam, it’s tough not to find quality teams — or happy ones.

“It’s the next level for our program, it’s really nice to be invited to a prestigious tournament like this,” Malatesta said. “I rank this right up there with the Diamond. These teams are no joke you’re going to be playing here ... and the facility is awesome. I love this place.”

“When this goes on the schedule, we know we’re guaranteed two really solid out-of-conference games — normally they’re out-of-conference games,” added Hallenbeck, noting the possibility of running into Vineland. “We’ll be in it as long as we’re invited.”